Trivium

Tue 16th Feb, 2010 in Features

One of the biggest metal bands to come out of the USA in the last few years is without a doubt the Florida foursome Trivium. They began to conquer the metal arena when they were still in high school, scoring coveted support slots with Slipknot and releasing their debut album Ember To Inferno.

2009 saw the release of their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Shogun, and an extremely hectic touring schedule that took them all over the world. Lead Vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy took some time to have a chat with FasterLouder recently about the past year and what is in store for them in 2010.

Trivium are heading down under for the fourth time in their careers in 2010 for Soundwave, and the boys could not be more excited. “We are super stoked to be heading back to Australia for the Soundwave festival,” Heafy confirms. “We played the Big Day Out a few years ago and if it’s anything like the Big Day Out then we are definitely very excited! The line-up is just amazing.

“We are bringing a better show to Australia this time around too, and I don’t mean lights and pyro and stuff – I am talking about pure performance. We are coming in with all guns blazing.”

Despite sounding enthused, Heafy also mentions that the whirlwind Soundwave tour has unfortunately only left a slim opportunity to play some sideshows. “I wish we were doing more, but because of the travelling and the show schedule and because we are hitting all the cities it wasn’t really possible. But also I think it might take away from the concert a little. So I guess for people who don’t have the option to go to one sideshow will have to come to Soundwave!”

But the touring does not end there. Once the Soundwave tour has been completed in Australia, Trivium will be heading to Indonesia, the Philippines and New Zealand for the final shows in support of Shogun. Then it’s back to America and into the recording studio for the next album, which Heafy claims is their best work to date.

“We have about 30 songs written and we are looking to get into the studio in around May this year. We are going to rent a house, turn it into a studio and record for about six months. We have been preparing and writing new music since Shogun came out and this new song is coming out in the new video game God Of War 3, which will show people where we are going now and hold them over until the next record does come out.”

Heafy says that the collaborative effort in making the new single is what makes it one of their best. ‘The new song was started off by Paolo [Gregoletto] and we all just started adding parts on it and changing things. Even when we were recording it, all four of us were there. We were constantly throwing different ideas at each other. When we finally lined up the final version of the song, it was probably the most collaborative song we have done in a long time – if not ever.”

In order to take their sound to the next level on this album album, Trivium is taking on a whole new team. “We are doing absolutely everything differently. A different studio, engineer, mixer, producer, master – different everything. We have other plans too, but we can’t talk about them just yet,” Heafy chuckles slyly.

He also laughs off any talk of any collaborative efforts with other artists. “It is such a cool thing to do these days, isn’t it? Everyone seems to be doing it. But I guess we could ask Taylor Swift, she seems to be guesting with everyone at the moment!

“But really, if we were to ever do something like that, it would be with someone totally out of the box. Like maybe John Mayer for a guitar solo or something weird like that. But otherwise no, we haven’t really thought about it. It is a cool thing to do for sure, but I don’t think we would think about it any time soon.”

Although the ever-popular collaborations don’t seem to be taking Trivium’s fancy, they love to get their fans involved at every chance they get. Hence the two competitions run in conjunction with the Soundwave tour: a chance for a lucky few to go ten-pin bowling with their heroes, or FasterLouder’s own comp to win a guitar lesson with Heafy.

“I suck at bowling!” he laughs. “But Corey [Beaulieu] is great at it, so that will be fun. But I am good at the guitar, so I think I will be able to give a great lesson there!”

2010 looks like it will be a busy year for the metal foursome, and they are definitely excited to dive straight in. “Look out Australia: we are bringing an awesome live show back to you and we can’t wait!”

Trivium plays Soundwave around the country, as well as one special sideshow in Melbourne alongside Anvil.

Saturday 20 Feb – Soundwave Festival Brisbane
Sunday 21 Feb – Soundwave Festival Sydney
Tuesday 23 Feb – Espy (Gershwin Room), Melbourne
Friday 26 Feb – Soundwave Festival Melbourne
Saturday 27 Feb – Soundwave Festival Adelaide
Monday 1 March – Soundwave Festival Perth